Singapore, Sept. 4 – Singapore F-35 jets will be split between home and overseas bases under a US Department of War report that puts the Republic of Singapore Air Force programme at US$4.06 billion, or about S$5.17 billion, for 20 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets and related equipment. Eight of Singapore’s 20 F-35 jets will be based at Tengah Air Base, while the remaining twelve will stay permanently in the United States, the first official disclosure of both the full contract value and the basing plan. Delivery of the first RSAF F-35 is scheduled for a US airbase by the end of 2026, with aircraft expected in Singapore only in 2029. The Ministry of Defence has not itself published the total cost of the stealth fighters meant to replace ageing F-16s, and when asked, it pointed to an earlier statement that more details would be released once planning and production are firmed up. The report, published in April and made public on 3 August, also sets out the delivery timeline and the stations assigned to each variant.
Twelve of the jets are F-35Bs with short take-off and vertical landing capability, all of which will be stationed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where RSAF F-35 training will take place. The F-35B can operate from shorter runways, hover and land like a helicopter, features that then-Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament in February 2024 give more operational flexibility in land-scarce Singapore. MINDEF first bought four of the aircraft in 2019 with an option for eight more, a package then valued at some US$2.75 billion by the US government, and exercised that option in 2023. The F-35B carries a 6,800kg weapons payload and has a flying range of 1,667km. Keeping the STOVL fleet in the United States allows the air force to complete conversion and sustainment training on a dedicated range while Singapore prepares infrastructure at home
The eight aircraft assigned to Tengah Air Base are F-35As, conventional take-off and landing stealth fighter jets that can carry a higher weapon payload of 8,160kg and have greater fuel capacity, with a range of up to 2,200km. MINDEF has begun design work on a main operating base for the F-35As in Singapore, expected to be ready in the fourth quarter of US fiscal year 2029, which runs from 1 October 2028 to 30 September 2029. Stationing the longer-range, heavier-payload F-35A at Tengah Air Base aligns the home fleet with air defence and regional reach while the F-35B training detachment remains in Arkansas. The split of eight F-35As in Singapore and twelve F-35Bs in the United States therefore matches variant roles to available airfield length, payload needs and training capacity. The Department of War report is the first public document to confirm both the 20-jet total and this geographic division.
Together, the purchase and basing plan mark a structured transition for the Republic of Singapore Air Force from fourth-generation F-16s to a mixed F-35A and F-35B fleet. The first aircraft arrive in the United States at the end of 2026; local basing at Tengah follows only after the new main operating base opens late in the 2028–29 US fiscal year. Until then, RSAF pilots and maintainers will train on the twelve F-35Bs at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, while design and construction proceed for the eight F-35As that will form the Singapore-based core. The US$4.06 billion programme covers the jets and associated equipment needed to introduce fifth-generation stealth fighters into national service. Officials have said further operational details will be released when they are final, leaving the Department of War report as the fullest public account so far of cost, numbers, variants and where Singapore’s 20 F-35 jets will fly from.